June 26, 2008

I had begun thinking about all this a few weeks before Mom died when Nando, my Italian husband (his full name is Fernando; "Nando" is his nickname), came back from a trip to the South of France in April, 2001. He had visited friends in Monte Carlo and couldn’t stop raving about a woman we both know, a woman a couple of years younger than I. He hadn’t seen her for about a year and was amazed by how rested and glowing she looked. Joan had confessed to him that she had recently gotten a facelift and she recommended it highly.

Nando was impressed by her honesty but didn’t want to press her for details at the time. It was more of a woman’s thing, he felt. He urged me to call Joan and find out more -- who, where, how much, how soon. "You should do it yesterday," he concluded.